Wednesday, March 3, 2010

HVM announces Swiss Miss for 2010 season

By now I’m guessin’ Y’all have heard the news that HVM Racing has announced former Atlantics standout Simona De Silvestro as the driver of its No. 78 Dallara Honda racecar for the entire 17 race season of the 2010 IZOD Indy Car Series. In a partnership deal with Team Stargate Worlds, the Switzerland native, now residing in Scottsdale, AZ will pilot the Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing entry fulltime with primary sponsorship from Stargate Resistance and associate sponsorship from Bernard Richards Manufacture (BRM), FireSky, Cheyenne Mountain Games, and Cardinal Technologies.

And I was all set to tuen-in to the BIG Indy Car Teleconference yesterday afternoon, BUTT! For reasons unknown my telephone decided to CRAP out at the last moment and thus you’re Humble No Fenders scribe was unable to participate… AIN’T Technology Swell?

Can you hear me now? Oh Crap, that’s right I’m on Verizon… Herroe-Herroe?

So I wasn’t able to disconcert if HVM is simply running a one car team this season? As “Bad Bobby D,” a.k.a. Robert Doornbos seems to have faded from the radar, while I noticed that Speedgear has all of his merchandise currently on sale… Although later on Simona divulged that she’s working with Race Engineer Mike Cannon, who seems to be HVM Racing’s lead Engineer, so perhaps no Bobby D this year?

And with yesterday’s announcement, we’re now assured of at least three Femme Fatales blitzing the field in Sao Paolo, as You-know-who will be there, along with De Silvestro and ‘Bia, a.k.a. Ana Beatriz, who for now is just doing a “One-Off” for her home race in Brazil, with hopes of running in this year’s Indy 500.

No word on where Indiana Bureau Chief Danny B’s favourite driver Milka-licious will wind-up at? Or if she’ll be bringing her CITGO sponsorship to Brazil or stateside in the near future…

But Hey! Fortunately I did get to listen to Simona on Autosport Radio yesterday, as I can only surmise that she’s making the Media circuit rounds…

Now we already know that Simona is very easy on the eyes… But I found her youthful energism to be quite enjoyable… Dare I say it? Simona seemed way more outgoing then You-know-who! And I really enjoyed her quip about her Dad telling her that when she was very small, (Baby?) whenever Formula 1 came on the TV she would get quiet… As Formula 1 has always been the dream, as like almost all European drivers, and I didn’t know it, but Simona’s name is actually Italian, which comes from her Poppa, who owns Automobile Dealerships…

De Silvestro got started like most aspiring youngsters by racing Go Karts, which she did for nearly 10yrs, before moving onto Formula Renault and then Formula BMW, where Simona was quick to point out that she’d raced the road course at Indianapolis as part of the F1 Circus’s supporting cast back in 2006.

And yeah, she has actually tested on an Oval, although she alluded to the fact that it was in an Indy Lights car recently, but there were actually other cars out there with her… Although her first thought upon this experience was: “Crazy Americans!” Albeit Simona’s been in the states now for six years, as she also told Don Kay that her manager Imran Safiulla had known Keith Wiggins in the past and that he’d put the deal together… And it’ll obviously be a new experience for her on an Oval in the Big Cars… And how it’s really strange to her that last year she was watching Dario & TK and now she’s racing with them… As she’s talked briefly to both Mr. Dashley (Dario Franchitti) and Tony Kanaan…

Simona also noted that the speed ‘N power of the Indy Car is quite amazing compared to the Atlantics chassis… As in Atlantics you can go down the straights, relax and think about other things… But in the Indy Car the straights arrive so fast and you have to pay attention every moment, as Simona confessed that she’d made a silly mistake when spinning her car in Barber testing last week on Day 1, but she did finish three tenth’s ahead of Princess on Day 2…

So welcome to the Big Leagues Simona. Good Luck and Kick DannaCar’s ARSE!
And of course now I’ve found Robin Miller’s story on Simona’s signing which states that Doornbos’s funding fell thru and HVM will only be a one car Team for the time being, although they’d like to expand to a two car operation… Hmm? Can you say Graham Rahal, please…